Means for removing pipe from wells



March 7, 1939. c. c BROWN 2,149,417

I MEANS FOR REMOVING PIPE FROM WELLS Filed March 9, 1936 2 sheets-snee: 1

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2 Sheets-Sheet C. C BROWN Filed March 9, 1936 March 7, 1939.

MEANS FOR REMOVTNG PTFE FROM WELLS .llllllllllllllllul'llllllllllllll Patented Mar. 7, 1939 AUNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE f MEANS, FOR REMOVING PIPE FROM WELLS Cicero C. Brown, Houston, Tex.

Application March 9,1936, Serial No. 67,787

13 Claims. (Cl. 166-1) My invention relates to a means and method of removing pipe from wells and has particular reference to the hner and strainer at the lower end of the well. It frequently happens that the strainer pipe atthe lower end of the well becomes clogged or broken and impaired and has to be removed. Even where a liner alone is extended vdownwardly into the 'producing formation it frequently becomes desirable to remove the liner so m as to rework the well or to replace the same with di'erent equipment.

It is an object of my invention to be able to remove the pipe at the lower end of the well and draw it upwardly to the surface.

I desire to provide means whereby circulation of uid in the well may be employed to assist in removing the strainer or liner or both.

The invention also includes means to seal between the releasing tool and the interior of the pipe to be removed so that circulation can be forced around the outside thereof, the invention consisting particularly in the manner with which the seal is made. 1

Another feature of the invention includes the use of a spear by means of which the pipe to be removed may be most effectively engaged.

I also provide means to allow a bypass of uid above the packer into the stem employed in re-l leasing thev pipe.

With reference to the drawings herewith, Fig. 1 is a transversesection through a portion of the well bore showing my bleeder by means of which the uid may be by-passed by the packer.

Flg. 2 is a similar longitudinal section illustrating the portion of my device which extends below the portion shown in Fig. 1.

y Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the lower end .of the well with the lower portion of my device therein.

' Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views similar to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, but illustrating the parts in a dierent position ready for the pipe to be withdrawn from the well.

Fig. '1 is a detail of a one-way clutch which I 5 employ in operating the device.

Fig. 8 is an assembly view illustrating the complete device assembled as it is used in wells.

I have illustrated the use of my device as employed in removing a hner and perforated pipe 50 extending down below the end of the casing I. Bald casing is shown as being cemented at its lower end as shown at 2. The cement around the lower end of the casing has been drilled through into the producing formation I and a u liner 4 and perforated pipe or strainer B'has been set within the lower end of the well. At the lower end of the strainer I have shown a set shoe' connected by the housing 1 to the lower end oi' said y strainer. Within the housing 1 and-set shoe 6 is the usual back pressure valve 8 and wash ring 5 or collar 9 about the same. These portions of the apparatus to be removed form no part of the invention itself. It will be noted, however, that the housing 1 and set shoe 6 close the well bore fairly closely so that no space is allowed for the 10 washing of uid around the same. It may often occur that the formation caves in around the housing 1 and strainer 5 so that they can not be readily withdrawn.

In carrying out the steps of removing the pipe 15 with the strainer and set shoe thereon I contemplate the use of a milling tool to drill out the metal parts which close the lower end of the strainer and housing. In doing this I employ a milling tool Ill, which may be of ordinary con- 2O struction havingy a tapered lower end II with cutting teeth I2 thereon and openings I3 through the lower end to provide for thefdischarge of flushing iluid which is pumped downwardly through the device. This milling tool is mounted 25 at the lower end of a drill collar I4, which is connected at its upper end to a seal nipple I5 connected in the drill stem.

This seal nipple is formed with a vdownwardly beveled lower end I6 and a second beveled shoul- 30 der I1 spaced above the same. said beveled shoul der being adapted to engage within the flaring upper end I8 of the collar 9 above the back pressure valve. Ihis shoulder I1 upon the seal nipple is spaced above the milling tool the proper 35 distance so that when the milling tool has entirely drilled through the back pressure valve and set? shoe. as shown in Fig. 6, this sealing shoulder will nt upon the upper end of the wash collar 9 and prevent the passage of iluid between the 40 drill collar and the interior of the housing at the lower end of the strainer.

Above the milling tool and its sealing connec tions and spaced upwardly therefrom adjacent the upper end of the hner I provide a spear with which the line'r may be engaged in removing the same from the well. 'Ihe said spear includes a lower barrel I8 at the upperl end of which is engaged an expander sleeve 20. Said sleeve is threaded on its interior with a coarse lefthand thread 2i, which is adapted to screw over the outer threaded area 22 of the spear mandrel 23.

Said mandrel 23 has its lower end projecting below the expander sleeve and has a packing cup l 24 at the lower end adapted to form a seal with 55 the interior of the spear barrel 9. This cup has a backing on its upper side against a nut 25 and on its lower side it is held inplace by a threaded cap 26.

There is a one-way clutch engagement between the nut 25 and the lower end of the expander sleeve 20. This clutch is shown best in this barrel is seen best in Fig. 1.

that these teeth will engage and form a clutch when the nut 25 is screwed upwardly against the expander sleeve 20.

At the upper end of the mandrel 23 is suspended a collar 29. Said collar has an inwardly extending flange 30 engaging above an outwardly extending flange 3| upon the mandrel. The contacting shoulders of the flanges 30 and 3| are downwardly inclined so as to hold the two ordinarily in engagement. At the lower end of the collar 29 are longitudinally extending slots 32 forming between said slots resilient arms 33 at the ends of which are the dogs or slips 34. Said slips are toothed at 35 on their outer surface with upwardly inclined teeth to engage the interior of the liner. On their inner sides they'are tapered downwardly to engage the seat 36 upon the expander sleeve 20. It will be seen that when the mandrel is screwed downwardly relative to the expander sleeve the dogs 34 will be engaged by the tapered upper end 36 of the expander sleeve, thus expanding or advancing the .dogs against the liner.

- Above the spear thus formed the drill stem 31 is extended upwardly inthe casing and has coupled therein a barrel 38 which I call a bleeder barrel for the reason thaty it serves the purpose of bleeding the liquid around the same into the interior of the barrel so that it .may pass downwardly in the drill stem. The construction of 'I'he walls of the same are somewhat thicker than that of the drill stem within which it is engaged. It has a plurality of openings 39 through the walls thereof, said openings being normally closed by valves 40 secured at the lower end of spring' arms 4| secured at 42 to the interior of the barrel. It will be understood that the spring arms 4| tend to hold the valves in closed position and when iiuid is being pumped downwardly through the bleeder barrel no fluid can escape upwardly. However, when the flow through the interior of the barrel is stopped liquid outside the barrel may open the valves and pass into the interior of the bleeder barrel. When the liner is removed fro`m thewvellit will be noted that there is a packer sleeve 43 closing off the space between the liner and the interior of the casing. I have shown this packer as having a compressible sleeve 43 previously noted, said sleeve being mounted upon a packer support 44.

At the upper end of the packer barrel a ratchet area 45 is formed on the outer surface. This ratchet area cooperates with a plurality of downwardly extending ratchet dogs 46 formed upon the packer expander 43 to which the upper end of the packer sleeve 43 is engaged.

It will'be understood that when the packer expander 41 is moved downwardly in the setting of -the packer the dogs 46 will engage in the ratchet area 45 and prevent the packer from being released- In the operation of this device the structure will be assembled as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive. When the device reaches the bottom of the well the milling cutter will be rotated to drill out the metal parts at the lower end of the well until seal at that point. Flushing uid will be pumpedv downwardly through the milling tool during the milling operation and when the seal is made between the shoulders |1 and |8, as previously noted, the pumping of ushing fluid through the device will cause the fluid to wash around the set shoe and the housing for the back pressure valve and cause a ,circulation upwardly around the strainer and liner. Some of this fluid thus pumped will circulate-inwardly through the openings in the strainer and upwardly around the drill stem. A large portion of it, however, will circulate upwardly around the outside of the liner and exert an upward pressure upon the packer 43. It will be obvious, of course, that the seal along the shoulder I1 is not absolutely necessary and that if the wash collar 9 is not so arranged as to form a seal good results can stillbe obtained.

When the milling tool has been advanced into sealing position as described the spear will be gripped against the interior of the liner so that an upward pull upon the liner may be exerted. To accomplish this the drill stem will be rotated in a lefthand direction. This will screw the mandrel y downwardly relative to the expander sleeve 20 and a push will be exerted upon the gripping dogs 34 to move them downwardly upon the expanding surface 36 and force them intogripping relation with the liner. This rotation being in a lefthand direction the teeth 21 and 28 on the clutch will disengage, allowing this downward movement. When the spear has been thus fixed in engagement with the liner an upward pull may be exerted thereon and at the same time the circulation of fluid may be continued. The upward pull of the spear on the liner will be assisted by the upward force of the flushing fluid against the packer 43. The packer will thereforeact as a piston assisting in moving the liner upwardly to the surface.

.The fluid above the packer will tend to be moved upwardly therewith, the packer acting as a swab to force the fluid above the same to the surface. To relieve the pressure of the iiuid above the packer my bleeding device is employed. The pumps will be stopped when the strainer and set shoe have been loosened and release of the pressure on the. interior of the drill stem will allow the fluid outside to pass through the bleeder valves 40 and bypass downwardly through the tool to the lower end of the well.

It will be understood, of course, that in case it is found to be impossible to remove the liner due to the fact that it has become frozen to the walls of the well I may release the spear and withdraw the device. Thisis accomplished by a righthand rotation of the drill stem screwing the mandrel upwardly through the expander sleeve 20 and having the effect of forcing said sleeve downwardly from beneath the dogs 34 and releasing their engagement with the pipe as shown in Fig. 2. When this movement is completed the clutch formed by the teeth 21 and 28 will engage as drawn from the well and other means in removing the liner. f

l An advantage of my device is the fact that after themilling operation has been performed a seal is automatically accomplished by the milling tool and the lower end of the strainer through the engagement of the shoulders Il and I8. This absolutely prevents the return of the flushing fluid inside of the'housing and strainer. 'I'he flushing fluid is, therefore, forced to nd an outleta'round the pressure valve housing and the strainerfand when this circulation'is continued the material tending to clog and wedge the pipe in the well will be washed away and it will thus be possible under ordinary circumstances to remove the pipe with a spear such as is shown in the drawings. A further advantage lies in the arrangement whereby the force of the pumps can 'be employed as exerting a pressure below the packer upon the liner and assist in the upward pull upon the pipe. The usual strain upon the derrick due to the pull which must be exerted upon the liner to remove the same is partly taken up by the hydraulic lifting apparatus thus formed. My arrangement whereby the load of liquid above the packer may be eliminated through the bleeding valves in the drill stem also has an advantage in this method of removing the liner. The,

further advantages will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A method ofiremovlng liner equipped' with packer, back pressure valve, valve housing and set shoe, comprising cutting out the back pressure valve and forming a passage downwardly through the liner, valve housing and set shoe, to the bottom of the well, forcing liquid under pressure downwardly through said liner, housing and set shoe, sealing against the return of liquid upwardly inside said set shoe,'and thus causing circulation of liquid'upwardlyoutside thereof, exerting an upward pull on said liner, and employing said liquid circulation to assist in lifting said liner.

3. A method of removing liner equipped with packer, back pressure valve, valve housing and lset shoe, comprising cutting out the back pressure valve and forming a passage downwardly through the liner, valve housing and 'setshoe to the bottom of the well, forcing liquid under pressuredownwardly through said liner, housing and set shoe, sealing against the return of liquid upwardly inside said set shoe, and thus causing cir-s culation of liquid upwardly outside thereof, exerting an upward pull on said liner, trapping some f of said pressure liquid below said packer, and exerting a hydraulic lift upon said packer and liner.

4. A method of removing liner equipped with packer, back' pressure valve. valve housing and set shoe, comprising cutting out the back pressure valve and forming a passage downwardly through the liner, valve housing and set shoe to the bottomy ofthe weil, .forcing liquid under pressure downwardly throught' said liner, housing and set shoe, and thslcausing circulation of liquid up- .=wardly outside v thereof, exerting an upward pull fappingfsome of said pressure liquid below said packer, and exerting a hydraulic `lift upon said packer and liner, discontinuing said circulation, and drawing liquid from above said packer back through said liner.

5. A method of removing liner equipped with packer, back pressure valve, valve housing and set shoe, comprising cutting out the back pressure valve and forming a passage downwardly throughithe liner, valve housing and set shoe, to the bottom of the well, forcing liquid under pressure downwardly through said liner, housing and set shoe, and thus causing circulation of liquid upwardly outside thereof, exerting an upward pull on said liner until said liner is loosened, then raising said liner and packer upwardly and draining the liquid above said packer back through said liner.

6. A method of removing from a well, the liner,

screen and back pressure valve and valvehousing including inserting a liquid circulating stem and milling tool, milling out said back pressure valve and opening a passage for said stem through said housing, forming a seal aboutI said stem in said housing, circulating liquid upwardly about said housing, screen and liner to release the same, and exerting an upward pull on said liner until it is released.

7. A method of removing from a well, the liner, screen and back pressure valve and valve housing including inserting a liquid circulating stem and milling tool, milling out said back pressure valve and opening a passage for said stem through said housing, forming a seal about said stemin said housing, circulating liquid upwardly about saidl housing,.screen and liner to release the same, exerting an upward pull on said liner until it is released, raising said liner and screen to the surface and simultaneously draining the liquid above the same back through said stem into the lower end of the well. f

8. A liquid circulating stem adapted to be inserted downwardly into a liner in a well, acutting tool thereon to cut out the back pressure valve from the valve housing, a beveled shoulder on said stem to engage in said housing and form a seal therewith and prevent the return of liquid upwardly inside said housing, a spear on said stem above said cutting tool and means to expand l said spear to engage said liner.

9. A liquid circulating stem adapted to be inserted downwardly into a. liner in a well, a tool thereon to out out the back pressure valve from the valve housing, an upwardly extending collar above said valve housing, sealing means on said stem spaced above said milling tool to engage on said collar in said housing and form a seal therewith and prevent the return of liquid upwardly inside said housing, a spear on said stem above said milling tool, and means to expand said spear to engage said liner.

10.'A liquid circulating stem adapted to be inserted downwardly into a liner in a well, a tool thereon to cut out the back pressure valve and other metal parts from the valve housing, a

beveled shoulder on said stem to engage in said housing and form a seal therewith and prevent the return of liquid upwardly inside said` housing, a spear on said stem above said milling'tool and means to expand said spear to engage said liner operating in response to a lefthand rotation of said stem.

11. A liquid circulating stem adapted to be inserted downwardly into a liner` in a well, a cutting tool thereon to cut out metal at the bottom of said liner, a seat mounted on the inner portion `oi' said liner above its lower end, a shoulder on said stem to seal on said shoulder; means to seal between said stem and liner and cause liquid circulated downwardly through the stem to pass outwardly around said liner to wash around the same, and means above said seal to engage said liner and exert an upward pull thereon.

12. A liquid circulating stem adapted to be inserted downwardly into a liner in a. well, ya cutting tool thereon to cut out metal at the bottom of said liner, means above said tool to engage said liner and exert an upward pull thereon, and an inwardly opening valve in said stem above said liner.

13. A liquidcirculating stem adapted to be inserted downwardly into a liner in a well, a cutting tool thereon to cut out metal at the bottom of said liner, means above said tool including an annular shoulder on said stem seating in said liner to seal between said stem and said liner thereafter, for the purpose described.

` CICERO C. BROWN. 

